Apparatus for the application of stain



Sept. 5, 1967 F. D. ROBERTS 7 3,339,525

APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF STAIN Filed April 28,. 1966 4 sheetssheet 1 v z I 5 IE:

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' 'INVENTQR. FRANK D. ROBERTS AT'T ORNE YS Sept. 5, 1967 F. D. ROBERTSAPPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF STAIN Filed April 28, 1966 v 4Sheets-Sheet FRANK D. ROBERTS INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Se t. 5, 1967 F. D. ROBERTS 3,339,525

I APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF STAIN Filed April 1 6 4 Sheets-Sheet5 IFlI Q, 4

lFllGo 5 FRANK D. ROBERTS INVENTOR.

m. BY 32% ATTORNEYS Sept. 5, 1967 F. D. ROBERTS 3,339,525

APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF STAIN Filed April 28, 1966 4Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG 6 FRANK D. ROBERTS INVENTOR BY K ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,339,525 APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF STAIN Frank D.Roberts, 751 S. Michigan St., Seattle, Wash. 98108 Filed Apr. 28, 1966,Ser. No. 546,048 6 Claims. (Cl. 118-63) The invention relates toapparatus designed especially for the application of liquid stain or thelike to boards and manufactured lumber such as flooring, ceiling, sidingor the like, which is usually delivered in flat elongated strips ofuniform widths and thicknesses. It relates also to apparatus as abovestated, that is readily adaptable to or may be modified for the stainingor treating of longitudinally grooved, abraded, sanded or unsanded,plywood or other panels of substantial width.

Specifically stated, the present invention comprises an apparatus forthe endwise and guided advancement of siding boards, panels or the likebetween paired coacting rolls, brushes or other types of applicatorswhereby one or both of the opposite surfaces of each board or panel may,in passing through the machine, be evenly effectively and economicallytreated with a selected stain.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a simple andelfective apparatus through which manufactured lumber may be advancedendwise and in rapid succession, for the application of a selected stainto their surfaces, in such a manner as to eliminate waste of thesubstance being applied.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor the above stated purpose that may be easily and readily adjusted toaccommodate the advancement therethrough of boards, strips and panels ofdifferent widths, thicknesses and lengths including beveled andcontoured top surfaces.

Further objects and advantages of this invention reside in the use ofrotatably driven brushes for the cleaning and clearing of groovedsurfaces, especially the tongued and grooved edges of the lumber of allforeign material and any excess of stain. applied thereto, for itsreturn and for reuse.

In accomplishing the above mentioned and other objects and advantages ofthe invention, I have provided the improved details of construction of astain applying machine, the presently preferred form of which isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. 1 is a plan ortop view of an apparatus embodied by the present invention as used forthe application of stain or the like to the surfaces of elongatedboards, panels or strips as advanced in succession therethrough;

FIG. 2 is a near side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a central, longitudinal section of the present apparatus, asseen on line 3-3 in FIG. 1;.

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 2 as seen from itsdischarge end;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional detail of the stain applying rollers,showing the stain delivery tubes at one side thereof and the grooveclearance air blade at the other side;

FIG. 6 is a detail elevation view showing one feature of this invention;and

FIG. 7 and 8 are views taken along the lines 7-7 and 8-8, respectively,in FIGURE 6.

Whatever the applied substance may be, whether paint, stain or othertreating solution, it will hereinafter be designated as the stain.

Before going into the detailed description of the present apparatus, itwill. be explained, in brief, that the elongated boards, strips orpanels to be stained or otherwise treated are advanced, as best shown inFIG. 3, endwise and in succession through the apparatus between paired,

3,339,525 Patented Sept. 5, 1967 horizontally spaced longitudinalguides. Said guides are located at opposite ends of the main housing ortub in which paired, coacting and rotatably drive rolls, brushes andstain applicators operate for the reception and advancement of theboards between them, for the application of the selected stain thereto.

The advancement of articles to receive the stain, whether boards, stripsof panels or the like, is eifected by the driving of the paired coactingstain applying rolls between which the articles are initially received.The stain used is pumped from a storage vessel and is discharged throughone or more pipe lines onto the coacting stain applying draw rolls andboard and is banked and spread thereby over the board surfaces andagainst the rolls as the boards are advanced through the apparatus.

The invention also anticipates the use of novel equipment for theapplication of the stain, as presently explained, for the powering andlateral adjusting of the board or strip feed or draw rolls and edgecleaning brushes, for the pumping and spreading of the stain on theboard surfaces and for the recovery of run-01f or excess stain forreuse.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

The equipment of the present invention, as herein illustrated, compriseswhat I have designated as the main tub 10 which is shown to be anopen-topped, rectangular sheet metal housing or tank-like enclosure withparallel opposite ide walls 10a and 10b, opposite ends, and a bottom10:: which is downwardly shaped to serve as a shallow drainage pan forcatching the excess stain from the boards and for draining it to anddischarging it through a central drainage opening 12 in the pan bottom10s, as shown in FIG. 3, into a sump 11.

This main tub 10 is supported at a suitable and convenient elevationabove a supporting floor surface 1 by vertical angle iron legs 13 thatare fixed thereto at its four corners. Directly below the tub 10 is asump 11, which is positioned to receive through a top screen 11', thedrainage from the bottom opening 12 of the tube. This sump 11 may be ofany suitable or convenient form of construction but preferably isdesigned separately from the tub 10 for its easy movement to or from itsnormal receiving position of FIGS. 2 and 3.

Contained within the hub 10, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, at the samehorizontal level, somewhat above that of the bottom 10c and near each ofits opposite ends and mediallyof the opposite side walls, are paired,complemental, laterally spaced guide bars 1515. The paired bars atopposite ends of the tub 10 are disposed in longitudinal spacing and areadjustable in their lateral spacing for the easy reception and guidedendwise advancement between them of the pieces of flooring and the likeof staining. In FIGS. 1 through 3, the pieces being advanced forstaining are designated by reference letter B, which would apply toarticles of different widths and lengths.

It has been shown in plan view in FIG. 1 that the paired guide bars 1515at opposite ends of the tub 10 are supported at the same horizontallevel from squared crossshafts 16-16 that are fixed in and extendhorizontally and transversely between the opposite side walls of the tubas shown in FIGS. 1 and 3; each guide bar 15 is supported by a verticalhanger 17 extending downwardly from a sleeve 18 that is fitted slidablyfor endwise adjustment on the corresponding cross-shaft 16. After pairedbars 1515 have been positioned in proper spacing for the boards beingadvanced, the sleeves 18 are secured in positions against shifting byclamp screws 19 associated therewith, to clamp and secure them againstthe companion cross-shaft 16 to hold the spacing.

I have shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, for explanatory purposes, relativelynarrow boards B such as siding, ceiling or the like, as advanced insuccession end to end, through the tub for staining. It is to be notedthat the boards B are being advanced into and from the machine onsuccessions of fixedly mounted conveyor rolls 20 and are advancedthrough the paired guides 15 at the receiving end of the tub between thecoacting draw or feed rolls and brushes, shown in FIG. 3 and presentlyto be described, and finally are received between the coacting guides1515 at the discharge end of the tub. As the boards approach thedischarge end, they are received upon a horizontal supporting plate 21and guided thereby between the paired guides 1515 at that end onto theconveyor rolls that conduct them from the machine to storage or place ofuse.

Located in the receiving end portion of the tub 10 immediately adjacentthe inner ends of the guide bars 1515 at that end, are vertically spacedparallel cross-shafts 2222 by which paired coacting rubber covered feedrolls 23 and 23' of substantial diameter are mounted, to receive theguided incoming boards or strips B between them for frictionaladvancement thereby. The cross-shaft 22' which mounts the lower roll 23'is rotatably driven by means presently to be described.

Likewise, mounted on parallel cross-shafts 2424 that are rotatablymounted in and across the discharge end portion of the tub, see FIG. 3,are paired cylindrically arranged bristle brushes 2525. The axis of theupper roll brush 25 can be made non-parallel for beveled or contouredlumber.

The two rubber-covered feed rolls 2323' are mounted axially parallel inthe same vertical plane across the entering end portion of the tub andthe paired brushes 2525' are likewise mounted in the discharge endportion. Thus, when the boards B are advanced into the apparatus frombetween the first pair of guides 1515, they are directed thereby betweenthe draw rolls 2323' from which they are subsequently received betweenthe paired brushes 25-25' and thence are directed into the guidewayprovided by the paired bars 1515 at the discharge end of the tub.

When a board enters the tub 10 between the paired guides 15-15 at itsreceiving end, it is guided thereby between the rubber-coated feed rolls23 and 23'. The lower roll 23', as seen in FIG. 3, is driven clockwise.The board B in passing between the rolls 2323 is advanced by thefrictional contact of the driven lower roll therewith which transmitscounterclockwise rotation to the upper roll 23. The axle or shaft 22which mounts this upper roll extends through vertical slots 26 in theopposite side walls of the tub and at its ends is mounted in bearingblocks 27 that are slidable in guides 27 and against which blocks coilsprings 28 act to yieldably urge the top roller downwardly against theadvancing board.

The lower roller 23 is driven as seen in FIG. 2 by a sprocket chain belt29 operating, respectively, about a sprocket wheel 30 fixed on its shaft23' and a sprocket 30' on a drive shaft 32' of a gear reductionmechanism 32 driven by an electric motor 33.

It is to be noted by reference to FIG. 3 that from between therubber-covered cylindrical feed rolls 2323', the advancing boards Bfirst pass edgewise between a pair of laterally spaced, rotatablydriven, vertical driven brushes 3535 and thence between the horizontalbrushes 2525 and are then received across plate 21 and between theguides 1515 at the discharge end of the tub. The brushes 3535 are shownin FIGS. 1 and 3 as being axially vertically disposed and are laterallyadjustable on a cross-shaft 36 that is fixed at its opposite ends inopposite side walls of the housing 10. Each brush 35 has a flexibledriving shaft 37 extended through a bearing 38 mounted on thecross-shaft 36 for lateral adjustment of the brushes to position themproperly for brushing the tongue and grooved edges of the advancingboards free of stain or foreign material. The driving shafts 37 of thesetwo brushes extend to opposite sides of the housing or tub 10 and areconnected for driving, respectively, to motors designated at 3939. Thetwo cylindrical rubber-covered rollers 23 and 23' are spirally groovedfrom end to end as seen in FIG. 1; the convolutions being quite closelyspaced and designed to feed the stain as delivered onto the rolls acrossthe full width of the pieces being delivered through the machine.

It has been shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 that the stain is delivered to themachine through two flexible tubes or hoses 4040 that are held at theirdischarge ends in openings 41' of cross bars 41-41 fixed across thehousing 10, above and below the entering boards, to discharge againstthe rollers 2323 and boards B as has been shown in FIG. 3.

If it is desired to stain only one flat surface, the delivery of stainto the other surface may be shut off.

From the rubber-covered draw rolls 23--23', the advancing boards B arepassed edgewise between the brushes 3535 and thence between the pairedbrushes 2525; these latter brushes being rotatably driven by a belt 44that is applied about a driven belt wheel 45 on an electric motor 46mounted on the discharge end of housing 10, the belt being extendeddownwardly and about a belt wheel 47 fixed on the end of shaft 24 andalso engaging in driving contact with a belt wheel 48 fixed on an end ofshaft 24. It is also to be noted that the two brushes 25 and 25' areenclosed by a housing 49 and splash plates to prevent throwing of liquidstain from the machine.

An important feature of this machine is shown in FIG. 5 to comprise whatI have designated to be an air blade which is, in effect, a transversemanifold 50 forming a converging passage 51 leading to a slit 52 thatextends to the full length of the roller 23. An air tube 53 supplies airunder pressure to the passage under control of an adjustable valve 54 toregulate the flow and pressure of air discharged. Discharged airoperates to forcibly drive liquid stain back into the longitudinalgrooves of the boards or panels into the banked-up supply of staindelivered against the front side of the roller as noted at 55 in FIG. 5.This air blade is supported transversely of the tub between the toproller 23 and brushes 3535, closely adjacent the advancing board B.

The air blade support structure is shown in FIGS. 6-8 as comprising apair of inverted L-shaped support frames 56 and 57 which have horizontallegs connected to the air blade manifold and have vertical legsconnected to the roll shaft 22 by means of flange blocks 58 and 59.Torque eliminators in the form of bars 60 and 61 extend from the sidesof the air blade manifold to the tub sides 10a and 10b to prevent therotation of shaft 22 from turning the air blade. Bars 60 and 61 ride invertical slots provided by parallel spaced bars 62 and 63 so that theair blade can move up and down with the roll 23 under the influence ofspring 28.

In the use of the apparatus for board or panel staining :1 supply ofstain may be contained in the sump 11 and pumped therefrom through apipe line 64 by a pump 65 and discharged through hose line or lines 40and 40 to the forward sides of rolls 23 and 23' for distribution therebyto the board surfaces. Excess of the liquid stain is caught by housing10 and flows to the base opening 12 of the housing and is screened andreturned to the sump 11 for reuse. If the surfaces of the panels beingstained are not grooved or otherwise patterned, then the air blade maynot be necessary but may be used if desired, leaving the regulation ofstain to the pressure adjustment of the spring-loaded rollers 23 and 25.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for'the application of liquid to the horizontal surface ofboards, said apparatus comprising a housing with guideways mounted inopposite ends thereof for the guided endwise advancement of the boardstherethrough, paired driven draw rolls mounted transversely in thereceiving end portion of said housing to receive said boards flatwisebetween them, means for the delivery of liquid onto the roll thatengages the top surfaces of the boards, an air delivery manifold withmeans for supplying air under pressure thereto, said manifold having adischarge slit extending to the length of the roll for discharge of airforcibly against the surface of the board at the contact line of rolland board counter to the direction of rotation and movement of theboard.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including also paired vertical brushesengageable with the longitudinal edges of the boards and means for thedriving of said vertical brushes for the removal from the board edges ofexcess liquid.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 including also paired, rotatablydriven horizontal brushes mounted for reception of said boards betweenthem to brush the surfaces free of excess liquid.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said driven draw rolls arerubber-coated and spirally grooved for the distribution of the liquidstain, as applied to their grooved surfaces, along the rolls; saidliquid delivery being at the contact lines of the rolls and incomingboards to induce the banking of the stain against the roll surfaces andboards at their receiving sides.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said paired driven draw rollsare mounted on parallel shafts, and including means for mounting saidmanifold on the shaft of the upper of said paired driven draw rolls.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the manifold mounting meanscomprises a pair of support frames connecting the ends of said manifoldto the upper draw roll shaft, and torque elimination means forpreventing rotation of said manifold as a result of rotation of saidupper draw roll shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 778,709 12/ 1904 Robertson 1182241,510,465 10/1924 Dittmar 1l81 18 X 2,001,339 5/1935 Wood. 2,007,015 7/1935 Hafner. 2,176,093 10/ 1939 Merrill 1186 3 X 2,274,179 2/ 1942Wysong ll8-6 3 2,366,926 1/ 1945 Melton 118-63 2,653,566 9/ 1953 Worden118-63 2,981,223 4/ 1961 Olszowka 118--63 3,061,457 10/1962 BrOWn118-111 3,186,861 6/1965 Smith et a1. 118-118 X CHARLES A. WILLMUTH,Primary Examiner.

R. 1. SMITH, Assistant Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF LIQUID TO THE HORIZONTAL SURFACE OFBOARDS, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOUSING WITH GUIDEWAYS MOUNTED INOPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF FOR THE GUIDED ENDWISE ADVANCEMENT OF THE BOARDSTHERETHROUGH, PAIRED DRIVEN DRAW ROLLS MOUNTED TRANSVERSELY IN THERECEIVING END PORTION OF SAID HOUSING TO RECEIVE SAID BOARDS FLATWISEBETWEEN THEM, MEANS FOR THE DELIVERY OF LIQUID ONTO THE ROLL THATENGAGES THE TOP SURFACES OF THE BOARDS, AN AIR DELIVERY MANIFOLD WITHMEANS FOR SUPPLYING AIR UNDER PRESSURE THERETO, SAID MANIFOLD HAVING ADISCHARGE SLIT EXTENDING TO THE LENGTH OF THE ROLL FOR DISCHARGE OF AIRFORCIBLY AGAINST THE SURFACE OF THE BOARD AT THE CONTACT LINE OF ROLLAND BOARD COUNTER TO THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION AND MOVEMENT OF THEBOARD.